In medical treatment situations, it is sometimes necessary to physically restrain certain persons or patients in order to provide protection for themselves and/or others. For example, adults and children having dementia, psychiatric or mental disorders, or other kinds of physical and/or mental problems may need to be restrained. In the past, these people have been physically restrained by using ties, straps or vests. However, the use of these kinds of restraints can be uncomfortable. In addition, these kinds of restraints are frequently removed during the day for a variety of reasons, such as to allow the person to exercise his or her muscles, or to clean or feed the person.
One alternative to using physical restraints involves the use of an enclosure restricting egress to a bed, typically referred to as a bed enclosure. Typically, the bed enclosure includes a supporting frame and a covering which is fitted over the sides and the top of the framework. The covering is provided with zippered side and end panel areas which can be readily opened and closed in order to provide access to the interior of the enclosure. Thus, the bed enclosure provides a more humane, safe and less restrictive environment for the person.
Unfortunately, a major problem with the use of such bed enclosures is an inability to move the bed enclosure after it is installed. Typically, specialized personnel must be called in so as to move the bed enclosure. In certain circumstances, the bed enclosure must be disassembled so that the hospital bed (on the interior of the bed enclosure) can be moved. In other circumstances, in order to move a patient from the bed enclosure to another location, the patient needs to be lifted and transferred to a mobile bed. The difficulty in actually moving the bed enclosure has discouraged the use of such enclosure beds.
Another problem is that some bed enclosures are not easily removable in emergency situations. For example, if a patient is having a heart attack, the medical personnel need unobstructed access to the patient. In this situation, conventional panels in the walls of the enclosure that allow access to the patent can be burdensome and obstruct medical personnel from their task at hand.
Another problem is that there are a variety of different styles of beds. Some bed enclosures are limited in their ability to be securely and easily attached to different beds while remaining capable of easily disassembly from the bed when there is no further need for the enclosure.
Another problem with some bed enclosures is that the patient inside of a bed enclosure can easily make contact with frame components that connect the bed enclosure to the bed.
Another problem with some bed enclosures is that attachments and adjustments to the enclosure's frame that attaches to the bed can require an installer to spend time connecting components in a cramped area under the bed. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,291 to Eads, the bed enclosure attaches underneath the bed.
Another problem with bed enclosures is that many bed enclosures can hamper or limit medical personnel's ability to effectively use devices to lift a patient into and out of the bed. For example, a patient lifting device (such as one of several models of floor based Hoyer Lifts for patients, manufactured by Sunrise Medical, 2382 Faraday Avenue, Carlsbad, Calif., 92008) requires sufficient clearance under at least one side of the bed to provide stability to properly use the device.
Examples of other bed enclosures are U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,732 to Vail, U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,925 to Vail, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,529 to Chadwick et al. These bed enclosures suffer from one or more of the above problems.
Accordingly, a need exists for a bed enclosure that can be easily and securely attached to a variety of different beds without the need for specialized installers; can be easily and quickly removed from a bed; provides safety in the internal area accessible by the patient; and permits easy access to the patient by medical personnel outside of the bed enclosure.